This Dr. Kuyper acknowledges. The Boer population is a compound of
Dutchmen, Frenchmen, Hugenots, Germans and Scotchmen. Krüger and Reitz
are of German, Joubert and Cronje, of French origin. Here is what Dr.
Kuyper, himself, says of the Boers:--

"The word Boer signifies 'peasant,' but it would be a mistake to
compare Boers with French peasants, English farmers, or even the
settlers of America. They are rather a _conquering race_, who
established themselves among the Hottentots and Basutos, in the
same manner that the _Normans, in the XIth Century, established
themselves among the Anglo-Saxons_. Abstaining from all manual
labour, they devote themselves to their properties, sometimes as
much as 5,000 to 6,000 acres in extent, and to the breeding of
cattle and horses. Beyond this, their object in life is hunting
lion and big game. _The Boer is essentially a man of war and
politics._"

Here we have the true Boer, and not the idyllic "small farmer" pictured
to us by a contributor to _Le Temps_. He is essentially the "man of war
and politics," the counterpart of an Arab chief, the sole difference
being that the Boer is not a polygamist and has no tribe under him; on
the contrary, the Boers swarm off in isolated groups or families. Their
conception of life is, however, the same. I quote here from my treatise
on The Evolution of Property (p. 46) on the subject of Pastoral
Tribes:--

"It was at one time the fashion to hold up pastoral tribes and the
patriarchs with their long flowing beards, as subjects of
admiration. Long-bearded patriarchs were objects of veneration.
Despite the quarrels of Esau and Jacob, and the story of Joseph